CFPB’s structure ruled unconstitutional, but is it really? – National Consumers League

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SG_HEADSHOT.jpgThe DC Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Wall Street financial watchdog that is the brainchild of  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), is unconstitutional.The three judge tribunal said that the CFPB will now function under direct oversight of the President, who will have the power to fire the agency’s director at will. The decision is intended to weaken the agency’s ability to wield its regulatory power independently from this or any Administration.

The lawmaker who authored the decision, U.S. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh, is a well-known conservative who once worked on President Bill Clinton’s impeachment as a Hill staffer. Judge Kavanaugh wrote that the CFPB’s “single-director structure” violates the separation of powers specified by the Constitution by vesting one person with vast power “unchecked by the President.” Prior to the decision, the President could only fire the director for very specific reasons. Supporters of the CFPB’s work predicted this court would find a reason to fault the agency and its structure.

Judge Kavanaugh wrote: “The CFPB’s concentration of enormous executive power in a single, unaccountable, unchecked Director not only departs from settled historical practice, but also poses a far greater risk of arbitrary decision-making and abuse of power, and a far greater threat to individual liberty, than does a multi-member independent agency.” This seems like a dubious basis for undermining an agency’s power as Congress created the CFPB structure very deliberately.

It is likely the federal government will ask the full DC Circuit to reconsider its ruling. And the recent wave of Obama appointees to the court may suggest a rehearing is possible. Meanwhile, Senator Warren had this to say about the decision:

“This split decision — which bizarrely relies on a mischaracterization of my original proposal for a new consumer agency — will likely be appealed and overturned. But even if it stands, the ruling makes a small, technical tweak to Dodd-Frank and does not question the legality of any other past, present, or future actions of the CFPB. The CFPB has been, and will remain, highly accountable to both Congress and the President, and continued Republican efforts to transform the agency’s structure or funding should be seen for what they are: attempts fostered by big banks to cripple an agency that has already forced them to return over $11 billion to customers who have been cheated.”

The CFPB has become such an important instrument of protection for consumers by overseeing the activities of the financial service industry that of course, given its imposition of fines and cracking down on industry misdeeds, bad actors are trying at every turn to challenge its power. It’s reminiscent of the multiple legal attacks on the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which stood up well.

The CFPB is doing exactly the job Congress intended, being the cop on the beat, and it’s fortunate that its structure and ability to police the industry won’t be seriously altered by this decision.

Preventive care benefits: Your health plan’s best kept secret – National Consumers League

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To those who may question the necessity of health insurance, I have two words for you: Preventive care. Seven out of ten deaths among Americans each year are from chronic diseases, many of which are preventable. Preventive health services like physicals, immunizations and other screenings can help find health problems early, when the chances for treatment and cure are better, or even prevent health problems before they start. 

Preventive health services are covered under all health insurance plans with no additional out-of-pocket costs when provided by in-network providers. Your health insurance plan may cover even more services that cost you nothing – to find out more, be sure to contact your health plan.

Unfortunately, many consumers with health insurance don’t take advantage of these services – simply because they don’t know their insurance covers it.  That’s a problem we’re working hard to resolve.

Below we list some of the preventive care benefits available through your health plan: 

For adults:

Immunizations (Vaccines)

It is important for adults to stay up to date on their immunizations.  They can save your life and save your health.  Through your health plan, vaccines for diseases such as chicken pox, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, hepatitis A & B, and the flu are all covered. 

Depression screenings

Too many people suffer from mental health conditions, such as depression, and the consequences can be devastating on individuals and families alike. Taking a depression screening is one of the most efficient and effective ways to determine whether you are experiencing symptoms of depression and get you on the path to treatment. Depression screenings are fully covered by your health plan. 

Cancer screenings

Nearly everyone has felt the impact of cancer – either themselves or a friend or loved one.  Screenings are one of the most powerful weapons against cancer. When many cancers are found early, chances of survival increase exponentially. Important preventive cancer screenings include cervical cancer screening, breast cancer mammography screening, and colorectal cancer screening. Lung cancer screening is also covered for adults aged 55-80 who are current smokers or have quit smoking in the last 15 years. 

For women:

Well-woman visits

Well-woman visits are key to women’s health and help identify health concerns before they become life-threatening. These visits usually include your annual physical examination, as well as any necessary screenings (such as pap tests, blood pressure and cholesterol screenings), evaluations, counseling, and immunizations based on your age and risk factors. 

Services for pregnant women or women who may become pregnant

In addition to the preventive services available to all women, there is also a list of services available for mothers-to-be. Breastfeeding support and counseling, gestational diabetes screenings, anemia screenings, and even folic acid supplements for women who may become pregnant are all covered under your health plan – at no additional cost to you. 

For children:

Autism screenings

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children are screened for autism at their 18- and 24-month well-child visits. This type of screening can quickly identify children with developmental and behavioral challenges when early treatment may be most effective. 

Vision screenings

Good vision is essential to a child’s development, success, and overall well-being. Their vision should be checked when they are first born, while they are a baby, and through their preschool and school years. If problems with a child’s vision are not detected early, their vision may become limited in ways that cannot be rectified later in life. And it can also affect school performance and learning.  But with early detection, it is usually possible to treat vision problems effectively. Thankfully, vision screenings for all children are covered through your health plan. 

Be on the lookout for new resources from the National Consumers League (NCL) and America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) to help consumers get the most out of their health insurance benefits.

What’s wrong with hotel resort fees? – National Consumers League

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Brian YoungThe following scenario is all too familiar to consumers when they are shopping around for the best hotel deal. You begin your search as many consumers do, by logging onto your favorite hotel booking site to find a hotel in a great location at an affordable price. After a little research, you settle on the perfect hotel that is near the action, but far enough away that it fits into your budget. 

As you near completion for your hotel booking however, you notice that the overall cost of your room is nearly twice the amount of the room rate you were quoted. This is because your hotel levied a mandatory resort amenity fee against you that you had to pay regardless of whether you use any of the amenities! You are now faced with the all too common choice between taking the financial hit and paying the hidden fee, or starting over from square one to find an affordable hotel (that hopefully doesn’t charge the fees).

Unfortunately, the trend toward mandatory hotel resort fees seems to be growing. During my own research for a hotel in Las Vegas, I saw several hotels artificially deflating their prices by neglecting to advertise their room rates along with their mandatory fees. One can only assume that this was done in order to lure consumers into selecting their hotels over the more honestly marketed prices that advertised the actual cost of a stay.

This practice is extremely profitable for the hotel and resort industry. In 2015, the industry garnered $2.47 billion from this practice. Unfortunately, while this trend may be very profitable for the industry, it is inherently deceptive and harmful to consumers who are slammed with hidden and fees for “amenities” they may not even wish to use.  Furthermore, these fees tend to cover amenities that were historically included in the price of the room such as local calling from their hotel room, beach towels, access to the pool or gym and discounted access to the hotel’s amusement park.

For consumers, this creates a race to the bottom where ethical actors — hotels and resorts that publish the actual cost to stay at their hotels — are disadvantaged since cost-conscious consumers are naturally drawn to the the least expensive prices. Unfortunately, travelers often find that their nightly rate increases dramatically once the resort or hotel comes clean about the mandatory fees.

Fortunately, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offered guidance to the hotel industry back in 2012 that motivated them to be more upfront about the fees they charge. Until then, many hotels were tacking on numerous fees at check in or check out, once a consumer had far fewer — or zero — alternatives to paying the fees. Recently, however, the FTC has stated that it will continue to look into the practice of charging mandatory resort fees that are separate from the advertised room rate. The Commission has even signaled that it may take action to end this practice entirely.

Unfortunately FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez has taken some heat from Congress for the FTC’s efforts to address this issue. Just last week, the chairwoman was peppered with industry talking points by Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), who insinuated that consumers do not mind being charged these hidden and deceptive fees. Let’s hope that the FTC will remain strong against such industry-led attacks and fight for honest and transparent pricing that will enable consumers to make informed choices and good actors will not be penalized for being honest about the costs of their rooms.

Where are the headlines that matter most to Americans? – National Consumers League

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SG-headshot.jpg“It’s the economy, stupid!” Those four words allegedly won Bill Clinton the Oval Office in 1992 when the U.S. was going through a recession and incumbent President George Bush was facing high unpopularity numbers. “It’s the economy, stupid” was coined by political guru James Carville and is echoing in my ears right now as we read the wildly encouraging headlines this morning showing that wages and living standards are increasing and hunger and poverty dropping in the United States. 

So why aren’t the newscasters talking about this wonderful news nonstop? Well, they aren’t. This morning the lead story on supposedly liberal NPR was “Bayer is buying chemical giant Monsanto.” I’ve been watching CNN headlines as I work at my desk and I haven’t seen a single discussion of this breaking economic news. Instead, there’s been nonstop coverage of whether Donald Trump will release his medical records to Dr. Oz, Hillary Clinton’s return to the campaign trail after her bout of pneumonia and her supposed “penchant for secrecy,”; they’ve covered Trump’s embrace of Vladimir Putin, the agony of defeat of past presidents. Nada, rien, nothing on the economy.

Why? This economic news is really quite stunning. And according to The New York Times, these numbers represent:

  • The largest economic gains in a generation
  • Poverty fell, health insurance coverage spread (Thank you Obamacare) and  incomes rose “sharply” and for households on every rung of the economic ladder, ending years of stagnation

So where are the headlines, the panels, the discussions of what really matters for average Americans?

The only conclusion I can reach is that the media is conflicted. They are not in the business of reporting important news because that doesn’t get them headlines. Instead, the incessant discussion about Trump’s latest outrage and Clinton’s emails and illness. Sadly, they have a profit motive in drawing more viewers so they talk about stuff that isn’t nearly as important as these stunning economic gains. But NCL calls on Americans to celebrate this most welcome progress–the middle class needs to grow for this nation to thrive. And our newspapers, radio stations, TV, and cable need to give this the attention it rightly deserves.

Okay, more details on the good economic news:

  • The number of Americans without health care insurance fell to lowest point since the U.S. has been keeping data
  • 3 ½ million were lifted out of poverty
  • Pay gap between men and women shrank to its lowest level in history (women now make 80 percent of what men make)
  • Employers added 3 million jobs and unemployment fell to 5%
  • Hourly pay increased by 2 percent adjusted for inflation
  • Real household incomes rose 7.9 percent
  • Poverty rates fell most sharply for African American and Hispanic households

U.S. Conference of Mayors committed to food waste resolutions – National Consumers League

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ali.jpgIt’s been nearly a year since the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a national goal to cut U.S food waste in half by 2030.  Since then, we have seen leaders from across the food supply chain, as well as non-profit, industry and government sectors, make impressive progress towards achieving this goal. NCL has been working hard to identify strategies for consumers who want to be part of this national movement. So, NCL is pleased that the United States Conference of Mayors recently committed to a set of resolutions that will strengthen food waste reduction plans within municipalities. 

Congress has been slow to act on food safety, including enacting federal legislation aiming to reduce our nation’s food waste problem. Regulations on food waste disposal, food recovery and redistribution, and even food date labeling can vary by state or city.

While disjointed state and city policies aren’t the most efficient way to tackle a national issue, some states and cities have developed their own food waste programs in order to push the needle. Take landfill bans for example. Currently, five states (California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont) and two cities (New York City and Seattle) have a ban or mandate on the amount of food scraps permitted in landfill. To help retailers and consumers prevent food loss and landfill waste, many states and cities are also providing tax incentives for food donations or have established more robust farm-to-food bank programs.

These leaders are inspiring other municipalities to follow suit. The resolutions presented by the U.S. Conference of Mayors signal the growing concern of food waste. NCL applauds the U.S. Conference of Mayors for making food waste a priority and for presenting solutions that help consumers be part of the solution.

Below are highlighted resolutions from the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ food waste resolutions:

  1. Food Recovery Hierarchy – The U.S. Conference of Mayors has developed a food recovery hierarchy based on the first three tiers of the EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy, which are: reduce instance of waste, recover edible food for redistribution, and repurpose food scraps for animal feed.
  2. Financial Incentives – Federal and state governments are encouraged to increase access to grants, loans, guarantees, tax incentives, or other financial resources to improve food waste recycling infrastructure.
  3. Collaboration – The private sector and consumer facing businesses are encouraged to strengthen partnerships with government agencies to press for food waste legislation and consumer education campaigns.
  4. Responsibility of Cities – Cities are asked to assess their region’s contribution to food waste and its impact on their communities. Cities are also encouraged to develop innovative programs to reduce waste and provide societal, environmental, and financial benefits. 

Happy 5th Anniversary to the CFPB – National Consumers League

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Since its inception five years ago, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has worked tirelessly to protect consumers from deceptive and abusive financial practices through its implementation of rules, programs, and new protective financial tools. For the past three years, under the direction of Richard Cordray, former Attorney General of Ohio, the CFPB has handled over 900,000 consumer complaints with 97 percent of those complaints receiving timely replies.  Over 25 million consumers will receive over $11.4 billion in relief from CFPB enforcements.  

The CFPB is originally the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who first proposed the agency in 2007 during her time as a Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Law author and professor, in order to protect consumers from, in her words, the “tricks and traps” of financial products and practices. When Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in July 2010, it created the CFPB. President Obama then appointed Warren as Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Richard Cordray was later appointed director and confirmed in July 2013.

The National Consumers League (NCL) applauds the CFPB on its very successful five years of protecting consumers in financial markets and will continue to support the CFPB in its efforts to crack down on the abuse and deception of consumers. NCL would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the great work that the CFPB has accomplished thus far, specifically:

  • The CFPB created the Consumer Complaint Database that allows the CFPB to send complaints about financial products and services to companies for response on the consumer’s behalf. The complaints received by the CFPB are published on the agency website after the company responds, or after 15 days. The CFPB thus allows consumers to be heard–by other consumers, banks, debt collectors, and others under the agency’s jurisdiction. This process gives consumers a voice which helps to improve the marketplace. 
  • The CFPB has proposed restrictions on the use of forced arbitration clauses in consumer financial contracts.  It aims to prohibit financial companies from using these clauses to block class-action lawsuits; forced arbitration clauses take away the right of consumers to seek relief and hold companies accountable when they have engaged in corporate wrongdoing. The CFPB proposal will help even the playing field for consumers in their interactions with financial institutions. 
  • The CFPB proposed a rule to end payday debt traps that would require lenders to determine whether consumers have the ability to repay payday, auto title, and certain other high-cost loans. The CFPB is concerned that consumers are being set up to fail with loan payments that they are unable to repay. This proposed rule would protect consumers from falling into the trap of paying off payday loans by taking out another loan they cannot afford, thus creating piling debt upon debt and creating a vicious cycle of impossible-to-pay-back predatory loans.
  • The CFPB is considering a proposal to overhaul the debt collection market where new protections would limit collector contact and help ensure the correct debt is collected.  Debt collection companies would be required to have more and better information about the debt before they collect. Companies would be required to limit communications, clearly disclose debt details, and make it easier to dispute the debt they purport to collect.  Debt collection generates more complaints to the CFPB than any other financial product or service. The proposal would increase consumer protections.
  • The “Know Before You Owe” program is a mortgage initiative designed by the CFPB to help consumers understand their loan options, shop for the mortgage that’s best for them, and avoid costly surprises at closing. The Know Before You Owe disclosure rule replaces four disclosure forms with two new, less complicated ones. The CFPB also provides consumers with tips and checklists to help avoid foreclosure and understand mortgage statements. Additionally, the CFPB recently proposed a rule that expands foreclosure protection by providing surviving family members and other homeowners with the same protections as original borrowers.

NCL thinks this is a very impressive track record of accomplishments over a mere five years. Hats off to the excellent staff at the CFPB, which includes many devoted civil servants looking to make the marketplace fairer and more equitable for consumers. And most of all, thank you to Richard Cordray for enduring the slings and arrows of some members of the corporate community, who have had little positive things to say about the work of the CFPB. Consumers owe the professionals at this federal agency a debt of gratitude for carrying out their mission–protecting consumers from unfair and abusive financial practices–with determination, purpose and effectiveness. Happy 5th Anniversary to the CFPB. 

Reflections on the RNC and DNC – National Consumers League

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Last week I attended the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. What a contrast with the Republican convention in Cleveland, which I also attended, the previous week. The RNC was overwhelmingly white (there were approximately 18 black delegates at the Republican National Convention.

Yes, eighteen, or roughly 0.7 percent of the 2,472 national delegates in Cleveland, the lowest percent since 1912, according to Daily Kos) – by contrast, the DNC was 50 percent people of color. At the RNC, I attended some great programs during the days. However, the activities on the street were, at times, downright scary. I blogged and posted photos on Facebook of the demonstrations and characters on the streets around the convention. I like to think that Diane Arbus[1] would have envied some of those photos.

Many of the speeches at the RNC were also dark and foreboding, describing the U.S. military as a “disaster,” claims that United States is on a dangerous path toward tyranny and violence, the Democratic candidate is a “Lucifer” and chants aimed at Hillary of “guilty” and “lock her up.”

Last week’s DNC was decidedly different in spirit and mood: upbeat, optimistic, diverse, and joyful. It featured a far more diverse crowd, a huge millennial presence – female and male – with young folks exuding a palpable excitement about the first woman ever nominated to be President. Thankfully for people like me, I saw none of the misogyny or hate so much in evidence the week before.

And we can be very grateful for one more thing: there was no violence at either the RNC and DNC. This wasn’t an accident; both cities avoided violence because of meticulous planning by law enforcement. The fact that both conventions were peaceful is a miracle given the nastiness of this Presidential race, and in the RNC’s case, the white supremacists threatening to come to Ohio, and the state law permitting gun owners to sling AK15 lightweight assault rifles over their shoulders like out of Gunsmoke.

We can’t discount the anger of Bernie-or-bust supporters at the DNC, who continue to cling to the notion that the nomination was stolen from them. For the record, Sanders received 3 million fewer votes than Clinton and had around 970 fewer pledged delegates. Even so, every Democrat I talked to, including elected officials, embraced much of Bernie Sanders’ platform: higher minimum wage, repeal of Citizens United, adjusting the growing gap in wealth.

In any event, huge kudos should go to officials in each city for their careful planning and for keeping attendees safe. 

During the daytime at both conventions, I attended events sponsored by NCL donors on women in politics and health care, and including one in Philadelphia we co-hosted, underwritten by Eli Lilly on fighting Alzheimer’s. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ed Markey (D-MA) spoke. Stabenow is working in Congress to increase research and funding for Alzheimer’s, and Markey talked about his brilliant mother’s descent into the illness, and how we must demand that NIH more robustly set a timetable for finding a cure. B. Smith, the glamorous and successful restaurant owner who suffers from the illness, came with her husband, who spoke eloquently about her determination to beat the disease. She stood stoically by his side as he noted that communities of color and women are more likely to get Alzheimer’s and more research is needed to understand why.

NCL has many friends in Congress. Janette Fennell, who runs KidsandCars.org, and I drove to Wells Fargo Field on Wednesday to hear President Obama, Vice President Biden and his wife Jill Biden, VP Nominee Tim Caine and many others speak. We rode with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), the democratic House co-sponsor of The Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2008. When I was Senior Product Safety Counsel at Consumers Union, Janette and I worked together on this bill to require that all cars have rearview cameras so toddlers don’t get backed over and killed because they cannot be seen behind the vehicle.

Then-New York Senator Hillary Clinton was our Senate Democratic co-sponsor. Schakowsky and Clinton came to know one another well in the course of trying to get this bill passed. I enjoyed watching Schakowsky’s TV interview the next day describing Hillary Clinton as a wonderfully generous colleague and ally in Congress. Senator John Sununu (R-NH) and Rep Peter King (R-NY) were our Republican co-sponsors for that bill, and they were key to getting it enacted and signed into law by President George Bush. Though a Republican, Congressman King also speaks highly of working with Senator Clinton and her staff on the legislation.

This bill was enacted eight years ago, but full implementation won’t happen by in 2018. By then, every car should have a rearview camera.

So back to the convention. It’s hard to fully capture the excitement and energy in the hall throughout the week. The young women and men cheering wildly for Hillary … the “I’m With Her” buttons, bumper stickers, hats and t-shirts … the African American and Hispanic women and men chanting in support of their candidate … the disability rights activists, the full embrace of LGBT members, the union presence … I ran into Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, at the Emily’s List event; her union of teachers has for decades famously deployed its millions of members door-to-door for candidates.

Indeed, attendees at the DNC understood this is a turning point in American history. For the first time in 240 years, the United States has a woman running for President who has been endorsed by a major party. As a life-long feminist and head of a women-founded pioneering organization like NCL, being in the hall when Hillary came to the podium to accept the nomination felt like a fulfillment of the wishes and hopes of so many American women throughout our nation’s history. I have to believe that NCL’s founders and leaders—towering figures in their own right, each of them enormously talented—Florence Kelley, Josephine Goldmark, Francis Perkins, Eleanor Roosevelt—would have savored the moment.

What is particularly vindicating for feminists is hearing the most powerful men in the world, President Obama, former President Bill Clinton, VP Joe Biden, billionaire and former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senator Tim Kaine, endorse a woman to be our next President. American women have been waiting generations for this moment. No, sexism and misogyny won’t disappear if we have a woman president. Women still earn less than men and sexual harassment, sexual assault on campuses, and discrimination in the workplace will be with us for a long time. But this is a transformative moment for women in America and around the world.

I remember a friend telling me she attended college and law school with Hillary Clinton. While they were at Wellesley together, Hillary was regarded as so very talented that her classmates believed she would be the first woman president of the United States. They were dismayed when she decided to follow her hayseed boyfriend to Arkansas! They were sure she’d be lost to them forever. Well, I guess their instincts were right.

This will be a difficult and long few months until the November election. But it will be full of firsts. Our daughters and sons are watching the glass ceiling be broken; and just as we watched Barack Obama make history as the first successful African American candidate for the presidency, we at NCL will be in the front row watching with awe and excitement the first woman nominated by a major party running for the highest office in the land.

[1] Diane Arbus, as her Wiki page notes: was an American photographer and writer noted for photographs of marginalized people—dwarfs, giants, transgender people, nudists, circus performers – and others whose normality was perceived by the general populace as ugly or surreal.

Day two from the RNC – National Consumers League

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SG_HEADSHOT.jpgThe buzz at the breakfast event on St. Clair today was all about the plagiarized sections of Melania Trump’s speech and how in the world that could have happened. At my morning event sponsored by The Atlantic Magazine, I sat next to a theater professor from a Maryland college who is spending her sabbatical studying the theatricality of the campaign. She regularly vets student papers for plagiarism through commonly used websites. Oops-guess the Trump campaign forgot to undertake that simple task.

What most of America doesn’t know is that conventions are a big party for a week. It was beautiful to be outdoors; in the low 80s, perfect for walking around and people watching. Though you need credentials to get into the actual convention site-in Cleveland it’s where LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers just a few weeks ago won the national championship-the Quicken Arena–but a lot of what goes on is outside the official venue.

Cities hosting conventions have their venues booked out for months and hotels are all full, Airbnb’s are charging $700 for closet-sized rooms, and a city like Cleveland, on the upswing, provides endless entertainment at bars, restaurants, media outlets this week. All the big events are within a mile of each other and this is proving to be a very walkable city. I palled around with two friends from event to event.

One scary site: The Ohio Minutemen, draped by automatic weapons, a phalanx of six white men with patches on their jackets identifying who they are. I asked one member what they stand for. He mumbled, “Just defending the Constitution, Ma’am.” 

Then there’s the ubiquitous misogynist slogans on buttons, T-shirts and signs directed at Hillary Clinton; they are too crude to pass along but you can imagine the fear the first woman endorsed by a major party running for President instills.

I attended The Atlantic event with Ron Brownstein, moderating a discussion about how Donald Trump can turn the electoral map in his favor.  It’s a challenge–how does he get the Rust Belt white male votes and also appeal to the Millennials in purple swing states like Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. I learned later from commentators that Republicans don’t think they have much of a chance with Millennials, who are looking for a more positive message that is far more inclusive.

T-shirts and bobbleheads for sale, music and entertainment on the streets. We walked down West Fourth today where MSNBC is based and Chuck Todd doing a live interview as we walked by. The Washington Post has staked out its temporary headquarters and the women of CodePink were there in their pink braziers and skirts with signs reading “Bust Up Militarism” and “Women Say Disarm Disarm.”

I attended a luncheon sponsored by Pfizer on the global benefits of fighting polio with a panel of experts. Two members of Congress, Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Phil Roe (R-TN), a doctor, both spoke in support of international funding for eradicating polio and a goal of vaccinating every child on the planet. I was disappointed that Rep. Emmer gave credence to the vaccine naysayers; he did implore us to listen to the families with autistic children who are convinced there’s a link to vaccinations but thankfully Dr. Roe emphasized that the “science just isn’t there” to support the link. 

Corporations and nonprofits–Atlantic Monthly and Center for American Progress for example–both held excellent and substantive panel discussions throughout the day. Receptions and cocktail parties abound, many in the most picturesque Cleveland sites: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where I was last night is on what has become gorgeous Lake Erie, tonight Proctor & Gamble and Roll Call newspaper booked the old Powerhouse in the Flats area right off downtown–a charming site on the Cuyahoga River where boat rowing crews glided by. The P&G panel featured elected Republican women discussing how to get more of their colleagues elected to political office. I enjoyed talking to nuns on the Bus, a progressive group of sisters who lobby for social change and came at the invitation of Roll Call.

I had the chance to spend time with two Republican officials NCL works closely with, Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen of the FTC, who is a thoughtful and insightful pro-consumer member of the Commission, and former FTC Chairwoman Debbie Majoras who hosted the P&G event tonight and who is a strong advocate for electing women of whatever stripe to political office. She also grasps the importance of her company being consumer-focused. 

Tonight as I watch speakers like Trump’s daughter Tiffany, Governor Chris Christie, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan addressing the delegates, I’m glad to say I’m here soaking up the flavor of the Republican convention at the most unpredictable and unfathomable Presidential election in modern history. 

 

[1] Apparently, though I‘ve never tried it, you can put in a section of a speech and Google will tell you whether it’s from some other famous passage or talk. “Grammarly” is a website that is an automated proofreader and plagiarism checks. The problem was, Melania said she wrote the speech herself. But when it turned out much of it was lifted was Michelle Obama’s convention speech from 2008, she said someone else wrote it.

[1] CNN has the passages side by side and highlighted in yellow. Sections of Michelle’s and Melania’s speech appear word for word: https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/19/politics/melania-trump-michelle-obama-speech/

 

Day one from the RNC – National Consumers League

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Here I am in Cleveland, the host city of the Republican National Convention. I ended my day at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a must-see American museum icon with gorgeous views of this beautiful city on Lake Erie. Cleveland is an unlikely host city for the RNC; it remains a stronghold of democratic activism:

Yet the RNC is in Cleveland because Ohio is a swing state in electoral politics, and Cleveland’s political leaders—many of them Democrats—fought hard to bring the money and luster of the convention to their city. But so many Republican stalwarts are missing; no Bush family members, no Gov. John Kasich speaking.

But today, the first of the convention, was filled with tension. There were police from every corner of America; I saw their badges and I asked them about being in Cleveland. It’s hot today—88 degrees. They are weighed down head to toe with walkie talkies, guns in holsters, and all sorts of other equipment. I feel for them and admire their willingness to be here.

From Kansas to California law enforcement, they said they were recruited nationwide to ensure there was no shortage of protection for delegates and visitors. They told me there were police from 140 places. I expected to see a vivid array of firearms, but was relieved that there were no civilians carrying guns. I walked over to St. Clair Street before noon; a 20 something kid with a ragged beard and a sign “GOP=Same Old Klan” directed me. The protestors marched with #BlackLivesMatter and Socialism signs peacefully and were accompanied by at least 150 police on bicycles. But the crowd was small; I think that many people stayed home.

Starbucks was full of reporters using the free Wifi to file stories before rushing to their next assignment.

Walking around town was a mixed bag. Many locals are selling Donald Trump tshirts and buttons, spouting sexist insults directed at the first woman nominated by a major party in America. I guess they can’t resist using the B word and worse. I felt anger welling up at the kind of misogynist slogans aimed.

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman welcomed two former VP hopefuls—Newt Gingrich and Sen. Joni Ernst—at a speech at Cuyahoga Community College, in support of Sen. Portman. I was pleased that Sen. Ernst talked about passing legislation against human trafficking, something NCL cares about deeply.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame featured an excellent session on data security and privacy with Republican FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, who is especially articulate on these issues.

I worried about getting around, but it’s not too bad. I saw no taxis, but Ubers and Lyfts abound. I got rides within five minutes of my call, and we worked around the traffic with little difficulty.

I’ll be at the RNC every day posting my observations. Hope today’s smooth sailing continues through the week!

Believing women patients – National Consumers League

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SG-headshot.jpgLast year, the FDA approved a drug for female low libido–known as Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder or HSDD–for the first time in history. It didn’t happen without a great deal of naysaying by the media, pharmaceutical company critics and most disappointing, some feminists. The skeptics questioned whether the millions of women who complained of having lost their sex drive were imagining the condition.

NCL took the opposite position. We believed these women’s testimonials, validated their experience, and supported approval of a treatment because, first, the science is there. HSDD has been a recognized condition in medical literature since the 1970s. Second, we listened to women patients; we heard them describe the terrible effects this condition had on their self esteem and relationships.

And so, it was with great interest I read about new research into another condition that has many naysayers (and affects mostly women), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or more officially, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). The existence of ME has also been met with great skepticism over the years and there are no blood tests or biomarkers to diagnose the illness.

I’ve had friends and colleagues who suffered from this condition and it saps their energy, diminishes their ability to work and their zest for life, and takes a huge toll on their families. What that proves to me is that the medical science hasn’t caught up with the illness.

In this new groundbreaking study, researchers looked at stool and blood samples of 48 people diagnosed with ME. They found that those with the illness had less diversity in their gut bacteria and fewer bacteria that were anti-inflammatory. They found evidence of a leaky gut from intestinal problems that allow bacteria to enter the blood.

Cornell University professor Maureen Hanson conducted the study. She noted, “Our work demonstrates that the gut bacterial microbiome in ME/CFS patients isn’t normal, perhaps leading to gastrointestinal and inflammatory symptoms in victims of the disease. Furthermore, our detection of a biological abnormality provides  further evidence against the ridiculous concept that the disease is psychological in origin.” Thank you, Dr. Hanson, for validating the experience of those who suffer from ME. And thank you to NIH for funding the study.

ME advocates believe that several hundred thousand people have this illness in the U.S. They decry the pittance spent by NIH on ME research, leading to a lack of understanding of its cause and sadly, the absence of a viable treatment. Advocates also cite the damage done by failing to recognize this illness: the lost productivity, billions in medical expenses, and lost tax dollars from those unable to work. 

Like HSDD, ME provides yet another example of patient suffering, while critics call into question whether the very condition or illness they are living with day-to-day even exists. Then science discovers a cause and well, maybe yes there is a medical basis to ME.

The lesson is, believe the patients, especially when there are hundreds of thousands–or millions in the case of HSDD–describing the same symptoms. We should hail medical science for finding cures for so many debilitating and deadly diseases. ME shouldn’t be an exception and let’s stop doubting that patients who suffer from debilitating illnesses are having real symptoms.